


The Hale Dhampir

by putaposyinyourhair



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2018-11-15 01:48:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11220735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/putaposyinyourhair/pseuds/putaposyinyourhair
Summary: With all the werewolves running around Beacon Hills, California, Caroline's not sure if she's going to find the peace she's been craving. But she supposes she'll fit in just fine, considering what she is and all, and who knows, maybe in the end she'll find something even better than peace in Beacon Hills.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The ever-famous disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters, aside from my original character, Caroline Mills-Hale, and any other minor original characters such as Jonathan Hale.

**Chapter I**

"Oh, you've got to be joking," Caroline concludes as she stares up at the remnants of what must have once been a very large and very expensive house, now burnt to an absolute crisp. She turns to the small group of ten-year-old boys who'd led her to the house and grimaces.

"Are you absolutely _certain_ this is the Hale residence?" she inquires warily. One of the boys nods, frowning up at her like he thinks she's trying to snake her way out of their deal.

" _Yes_ ," he stresses. "Derek Hale's been around town lately but we don't know where he lives so this is pretty much it." Caroline tries her hardest not to lose her patience as the boys all simultaneously stick out their hands, obviously in expectance of their promised payment. Caroline sighs, reaching into her duffel bag before pulling out her wallet and handing each boy their promised five dollars, leaving her short twenty dollars in one go.

"Thanks," she mutters dejectedly, then pouts and watches as they all turn their bicycles around and pedal their way back up the road towards town. Caroline turns to the house when she can no longer see the children and scowls at the sight of it.

"Now what?" she groans as she eyes the charred house. "Bollocks." She stands there for a moment, just staring at what remains of the house, before she sighs in defeat and trudges inside with her duffel bag, her shoulders hunched over in disappointment.

"Fuck me sideways," she swears, halting at the bottom of the dark stairway, blackened by fire, and drops her bag to the floor. It's quite obvious no one lives in the house. It's completely uninhabitable. There's no possible way Derek Hale can still be living here. She reaches up and rubs two fingers at her right temple, wondering how the hell she's going to find the man now.

A faint sound of movement pulls her out of her despairing thoughts not a second later and she springs into action, jumping aside just in the nick of time as a werewolf lunges out of seemingly nowhere and comes to a stop where she'd been standing a moment earlier, arms crossed like he'd been attempting to catch her in his arms.

Caroline lands on the scorched banister, almost gracefully, her chocolate brown eyes wide as she stares down at what's very obviously a werewolf, albeit a young werewolf. He stands there, glaring distrustfully up at her, his eyes shining a deep gold, and slowly drops his clawed hands to his sides. He sniffs at the air, in her direction, and frowns deeply, almost as if he's confused.

Caroline tilts her head as she stares down at him. His eyes aren't supposed to be golden. Caroline's sure they're supposed to be blue. Jon had told her the story he'd heard from his sister, Talia, the story of how Derek had caused the death of a girl he'd fallen in love with. That means his eyes are supposed to be blue.

Yet again, Caroline hears a muted sound of movement, only this time she's too busy pondering the werewolf's eye color to react quickly enough and before she knows it, she's pinned to the floor underneath a heavy weight and a clawed hand is wrapped around her pale neck. She lets out a sharp gasp as the much larger werewolf, this one with glowing blue eyes, looms over her, deadly and determined. Caroline immediately reaches up and grabs at the constricting hand around her throat, desperate for air as she struggles.

"Who are you?" the blue-eyed werewolf demands, his voice a dangerous hiss and his grip around Caroline's throat tightening with every second that passes.

" _Plea_ _—_ ," she chokes out frantically, sucking in any air she can get and pulling at his clawed hand with all the strength she can muster. The golden-eyed werewolf steps out of the shadows then, frowning as he reaches out and places a hesitant hand on her attacker's shoulder.

"Derek, she's trying to say something," the shorter werewolf mutters. Caroline's eyes widen as she realizes the blue eyed menace currently choking the life out of her is who she's been looking for, Jon's nephew and her cousin, Derek. She nods her head quickly, almost hysterically, confirming the younger werewolf's statement. Derek loosens his grip, just a bit, only enough to give her some air. But it's more than enough for Caroline, who greedily gasps and chokes for oxygen almost immediately.

"Who are you?" Derek snaps again, clearly irritated beyond imagination and about a second away from ripping out her throat.

"My name is Caroline!" Caroline wheezes out between large breaths, eyes still wide and full of disbelief that this man is the cousin she's been looking for. "Caroline Mills-Hale! I'm your cousin! Please, I—" Her words are cut off as she watches Derek's eyes expand for a moment, only to narrow down at her once more, baring his sharp canines angrily.

"I have no cousins!" he shouts furiously. His hand around her throat begins to tighten once again and Caroline swears she can almost see her life flash before her eyes when she realizes he's raising his other clawed hand to strike.

" _Derek, wait_!" the younger werewolf cries out as he lurches forward and catches Derek's hand in mid-air. "She's telling the truth! You know she is! What the hell are you doing?"

"I really a-am!" Caroline chokes out. "Jon! J-Jonathan Hale!" Derek's eyes widen in recognition, his grip around her neck loosening. He eyes her distrustfully for a moment before he finally releases his hold on her neck and pulls his arm out of the other werewolf's grip. He stands up slowly as Caroline reaches up to her neck and rubs at the tender skin, staring up at the obviously enraged werewolf.

"My uncle?" Derek spits out, eyes narrowed. " _The hunter_?" Caroline swallows nervously and sits up slowly, hesitantly, eyeing Derek closely, in fear of being attacked again.

"Yes," she rasps. "Jon was my adoptive father. He sent me to find you." Derek sneers down at her.

"Was?" he inquires. Caroline's gaze drops to her lap, her chest constricting at the thought of Jon.

"He's dead," she admits quietly. It's the first time she says it out loud and it's the hardest thing she's ever had to admit in her entire life. So when Derek scoffs, her head snaps up and her eyes narrow venomously up at him.

"Good," Derek declares, with a careless shrug of his shoulders. "He had it coming. He betrayed us." Caroline frowns at the man's obvious lack of faith but her disappointment is tossed out the window and replaced by rage when Derek adds on a low, "Hope it was a werewolf who tore the bastard to pieces." Caroline feels a sudden incredible urge to stick a really sharp knife down the werewolf's throat.

" _How dare you_!" she snarls, scrambling to her feet, nearly tripping in her fury. "He left your family to protect it! And for your fucking information, arsehole, it wasn't a werewolf who killed him, he was turned by a vampire and I had to cut off his head!" It's the first time she's admitted out loud what happened and it's almost too much for her. Her eyes well up with tears but she stubbornly refuses to let them fall, refuses to show weakness.

"Wait, _vampire_?" the younger werewolf practically squeaks, his facial features slowly morphing back into a more human form. "Those exist?" Now that Caroline's getting a good look at him, she can see he's only a teenager, probably around her own age. Derek rolls his eyes at the younger werewolf as he glances over at the boy. He still looks wary but Caroline hopes that his taking his eyes off her means he's squared away the urge to maim and murder her.

"Scott, why are you even here?" Derek grunts, letting his features alter to make him look human. "Did you sniff her out and follow her here?" The shorter werewolf, Scott, frowns but his cheeks flush with a bit of color meaning Derek's correct in his assumption. Scott's lips part to say something but Derek waves a hand toward him and cuts him off.

"You know what, I don't even wanna know," he reveals. "But to answer your question, yes, they exist. That's what _she_ is." The fury Caroline feels at being accused of being a vampire is immense and almost all consuming. Her eyes mutate from a shadowy brown to a vivid green that glows brightly, her fangs extend down and poke at the inside of her bottom lip, and her nails sharpen into claws. Both werewolves take a small step back, their eyes widening and shoulders tensing, as her own shoulders heave with a barely suppressed rage.

" _I'm not a vampire_ ," Caroline hisses dangerously, her hands twitching at her sides because she wants to clench them into fists but she knows that if she does that, she'll only hurt herself. "Do not _ever_ call me that." She's nothing like those monsters and she won't stand to be thought of as one of them. Derek arches a challenging brow at her.

" _Really_?" he asks, the tone of his voice dripping with barely concealed sarcasm as he glances down first at her fangs and then at her sharp claws. Caroline realizes he's got a point. Letting her anger get the best of her is no way to attempt to win the man's trust over. She exhales sharply and forces her fangs to retract, wills her claws away, and then takes a handful of deep breaths until her eyes fade back to their natural brown.

"I'm a dhampir," she states softly, looking over at Derek and hoping he can see that she doesn't want to fight. "And I'm different than most. _Aren't you_?" She arches a brow as well. Jon had once told her that Derek was a different man than most in the family, and especially different from most werewolves. She sincerely hopes her father had been right. Derek gives her a suspicious once over then sighs, almost dejectedly.

"What did you say your name was again?" he asks.

"Caroline," she tells him, trying not too feel too hopeful all at once at his tolerant tone. "It's… a pleasure."

* * *

"No way in hell," Derek announces, crossing his arms over his chest resolutely, even as Caroline's face falls miserably.

"But I-I have nowhere else to go!" she argues, staring up at her cousin desperately. "I'm only sixteen years old, you know." Scott stands off to the side, watching as Derek and Caroline go back and forth in an argument that seems to be going nowhere fast.

"Look, Caroline," Derek begins with an irritated huff. "You're a vampire—" He cuts himself off with a roll of his eyes when Caroline glares at him. " _Dhampir_ ," he corrects. "You're the enemy. My uncle was a hunter, also the enemy. _I don't trust you, I don't know you, and you're not staying with me_." The tone of his voice screams 'end of conversation' but Caroline isn't ready to quit just yet. She shoots up off the remnants of an ancient and singed floral sofa and throws her hands up into the air.

"Then where the bloody hell am I supposed to go, Derek?" she shouts. "You tell me! I have no one! And nothing! You're the only family I have left!" She pauses for a moment, eyes wide with disbelief, and shakes her head at him.

"Jon told me you were a good man," she continues halfheartedly. "That you were to be trusted. _He_ trusted you." Derek's eyes widen a fraction, his arms falling to his sides. Caroline sighs in defeat and drops her hands to her sides as well.

"I guess he was wrong," she mumbles disappointedly. "Maybe he'd been away far too long." Derek frowns, eyes narrowing once again.

"It was his choice to leave us," he growls. "His _family_." Caroline honestly can't believe the man is this dense, can't understand how he hasn't figured out the truth after all these years.

" _To protect you, Derek_ ," she tells him softly. "He never would've hurt his own family." Derek scoffs, obviously unbelieving, and crosses his arms over his chest once more. He stands that way a lot, Caroline's noticed.

"Yeah?" he snaps, annoyed. "How would you know?"

"I'm living proof of it," she testifies. "I've been a dhampir for two years now and not _once_ did Jon ever think of harming me. He protected me, taught me to use my new abilities, helped me through it all. So trust me when I say that Jon did everything he did only to protect us, _his family_." Derek's eyes widen once more and he frowns for a while before he finally sighs in defeat, though his arms remain across his chest.

"Fine," he decides. Caroline grins widely and throws an excited fist into the air. Her elation seems to be premature though when Derek continues, ignoring her outburst.

"But you can't stay with me," he goes on. "You're only sixteen. You need to go to school. Everyone in this town hates me. I can't be your legal guardian." Caroline arches a curious brow at him as she wonders why the entire town supposedly hates him. But her despair at being denied the right to live with her cousin wins over her pondering.

"Well, then, where am I supposed to stay?" she asks, nearly sulking.

"She could stay with me," Scott pipes up out of the blue. Caroline smiles over at him gratefully for a moment, and Scott grins right back at her, only to have Derek interrupt them.

"No," he dictates. "Scott, why are you still here? Go home." Both Scott and Caroline turn to gaze up at Derek with confused expressions on their faces.

"Why not?" Scott asks, ignoring Derek's orders to leave. Derek rolls his eyes down at the two frowning teenagers.

"Think about it, Scott," he drawls, as if he's talking to a pair of five year olds. "You're a newborn werewolf. You're still learning to control yourself. She's a two-year-old vamp— I mean _dhampir_ that could kill you in a heartbeat if you lose control and attack her. So no. End of discussion." Scott doesn't look happy about it but he nods in understanding. Caroline supposes Derek has a point so she does the same before crossing her arms over her chest, mirroring her cousin.

"Well, then where do I stay?" she inquires. Derek seems to think it over for a moment before he glances over at Scott and gives him a pointed look. Scott stares at him, confused for a very long moment, before his eyebrows rise and his lips form a silent 'o'.

"What?" Caroline questions as she glances between them, wondering if werewolves have suddenly developed the ability to communicate telepathically.

"Stiles," they both mutter simultaneously, both frowning for some odd reason. Caroline continues to glance between them, confusion etched all over her expression and growing at an alarming rate.

"Stiles?" she repeats. "What in the bloody hell is a Stiles?"

* * *

"Scott, couldn't we have simply knocked on the front door?" Caroline asks the golden-eyed werewolf as she leaps up onto the rooftop of the small home. "I understand it's the polite way to go about it." Scott shrugs his shoulders, ignoring her little jest, as she turns and helps pull him up onto the roof as well.

"I gotta talk to Stiles about it first," Scott says, dusting off his jeans, and breathing a bit harshly from the climb. "And then we gotta see if the Sheriff'll go for it." Caroline reminds herself to teach him to jump at some point in the near future before standing back to watch as he moves toward a window and yanks it open. He climbs through it and into a bedroom and Caroline follows after him, although it all seems a bit dodgy to her.

As soon as she sets her foot down on the carpet inside the room, her eyes widen, as she's hit with the most alluring smell she's ever encountered. She doesn't know how to explain it. It smells absolutely delectable, like a combination of the scent of a forest after it's just rained, something warm that reminds her of home or being wrapped up in her mother's arms as a child, and just a tad hint of vanilla. She wants to wrap the smell around her like a blanket and drown in it.

"He must be in the shower," she hears Scott mumble as he leans against a dresser. Caroline shakes her head, trying her hardest to distract herself from the incredible scent in the room, and sits down across from Scott at the edge of the full size bed. The smell is even more intense on the bed and Caroline has to chase away the urge to bury her face into the sheets and sniff to her heart's content.

"So, um, this _Stiles_ bloke," she begins, in an attempt to occupy herself. "He's your best mate, yeah?" Scott simply nods.

"Yeah, since kindergarten," he tells Caroline. "He's more like my brother, really." She smiles up at him. She supposes it must be awfully nice to have a best friend. She's never really had one, just a couple kids from school she would spend time with if she wasn't out training or hunting with Jon. She feels her chest tighten uncomfortably at the thought of her father. She wonders for a moment if Scott's aware of how lucky he is to have a best friend whom he can talk to.

The door to the bedroom swings open suddenly, pulling Caroline from her thoughts, and that amazing warm, woodsy, vanilla scent doubles vastly as a tall, lean, brown haired human boy with a buzz cut and brown eyes walks into the room, nothing but a dark blue towel hanging dangerously low at his skinny hips.

" _Jesus_!" he yelps, almost tripping over himself when he spots Scott leaning up against the dresser. Caroline's eyes widen, as she looks the boy up and down. She feels something strange in her chest as she studies him, a warm tugging feeling that makes her want to rub at her chest to make it go away.

"Dude, seriously," The boy, whom Caroline assumes is Stiles, huffs out, holding one hand to his chest in surprise and using the other to grasp the towel at his waist. "You should really try and use the front door. Like just once maybe." Scott smiles sheepishly at his best friend.

"Sorry," he mumbles, but Caroline doubts he's truly sorry, not when he looks so amused. "It's not like you don't do the same at my house." Stiles sighs and his gaze sweeps across the room to the nightstand next to his bed, his gaze rushing right past the girl sitting on his bed. Then almost as if it's suddenly clicked in his brain that there's someone else there, his gaze snaps back to Caroline.

Caroline thinks she should find his surprised expression amusing but she can do nothing but stare dumbly right back at him as she realizes the mouth-watering scent swirling around her seems to be emanating from him. Stiles glances over at Scott for a moment.

"Uh, dude," he calls. "Am I finally losing my mind here or is there really a smoking hot blonde sitting on my bed?" Caroline grins up at him. And Stiles, seeing her grin, does so as well. And Caroline thinks his smile is adorable, it's a cute yet sort of goofy grin, and it almost seems as if he's thinking 'Hey, she thinks I'm funny'. Scott chuckles softly and Stiles looks over at his best friend, his cheeks flushing an endearing soft shade of pink.

"Stiles, this is Caroline Mills-Hale," Scott introduces. "Caroline, meet Stiles." All at once, the smile on Stiles' face vanishes and his eyes widen. Caroline tilts her head just a bit, confused and bit upset that his smile is gone

"Hale?" Stiles mumbles numbly. "As in like related to _Derek Hale_? Super scary werewolf Derek Hale?" Caroline nods and stands up off of his bed, internally cursing Derek for giving the boy a bad impression of the Hale name.

"Yes," she tells him, slowly walking over to stand at Scott's side. "Unless you know any other Derek Hales around here." Once again all parties present ignore her little joke. But she doesn't have the time to be disheartened by it. She notices Stiles is taller than her, a good deal taller. She really likes that for some reason.

"Oh, uh, British, okay," Stiles mumbles out awkwardly. "Nice to meet you?" He reaches up to rub at the back of his neck, almost nervously, glancing between her and Scott.

"Welsh actually, and likewise," Caroline offers; hoping his sudden jumpy behavior isn't a bad sign. For some reason, she's feeling this incessant lingering need in the back of her mind to have his approval. It's a bit annoying if she's being completely honest with herself.

"Stiles, we gotta talk," Scott tells him. Stiles tenses, as if he doesn't like the sound of those words and Caroline shakes off the impulse to assure him it's nothing bad.

"Right, okay, so, uh," Stiles stutters out, glancing around for a moment. "I'd like to get dressed."

"Yeah, no problem," Scott agrees. "Your dad's not home yet, is he?" Stiles shakes his head in response so Scott reaches over and places his hand at the small of Caroline's back to lead her out of his best friend's bedroom. As soon as the door is shut behind them, a painful sounding thud rings out from inside the room. Caroline jumps at the sound, her eyes widening as she stares at the bedroom door, but Scott just rolls his eyes.

" _Fuck me_ ," Stiles' voice curses weakly from the other side of the door. "Son of a mother freaking—" He cuts himself off when Scott calls out a soft, "You okay, dude?"

"Yup, I'm fine!" Stiles exclaims in a huff. "Just, um, tripped a little." Caroline's shoulders relax and she realizes, startlingly, that she'd tensed up at the sound of the boy tripping. She shakes her head slightly, as if to clear her mind, and wonders what the hell is up with her. Scott glances over at her and repeats almost the same question, but this time it's aimed at her.

"I'm alright," she assures him, before glancing to the bedroom door once again. "I like him. He's funny." She doesn't add on the bit where she thinks he smells amazing, like Christmas morning and a summer day at the beach all wrapped up in one, but she supposes Scott wouldn't want to hear it either way.


	2. Chapter II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with another chapter. Thank you to all the people supporting this story, all the favorites and such, it really motivates me to keep going. I meant to have this chapter out much sooner but I was having some issues uploading. But never fear, the new content is here!

**Chapter II**

"So," Scott mutters, one hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck nervously. "What do you think?"

Stiles' mouth had dropped open at some point during Scott's explanation of the situation to him and now he's alternating between gaping at his best friend and gaping at Caroline. Caroline's feeling extremely anxious for some reason. She's fiddling with the hem of her jacket and glancing up at Stiles through her dirty blonde fringe every few seconds. Stiles straightens his back after a moment of heavy silence and clears his throat.

"Okay," he sighs. "Let me get this straight. You wanna ask my dad if a  _vampire_  can live with us?" Caroline frowns, her gaze snapping up to eye the boy with annoyance. She doesn't care how good he smells. She's been accused of being a vampire enough times today. But before she has a chance to scold and correct him, Scott reaches over and places a firm hand on her knee.

"No, no, no," Stiles goes on, his tone sarcastic, eyes almost comically wide. "You wanna ask my dad if a  _suspected murderer's_  cousin can live with us! Dude, are you freaking crazy?" Scott flinches but remains silent and lets Stiles go off on a rant and Caroline wants to cut the boy off and ask him to calm down, she really wishes he would calm down, but Scott's hand on her knee keeps her as silent as the werewolf.

"What am I supposed to say to him, Scott?" Stiles snaps. "Something like, ' _Oh, hey dad, this is Caroline, she's a vampire but oh, don't worry, Scott's a werewolf and so is Derek Hale who, by the way, is her cousin and legal guardian, oh and one more thing, can she live here'_?" He's making all sorts of wild hand gestures to accompany his words and he looks absolutely floored by their apparently ridiculous request. Caroline really,  _really_ , wishes he would stop calling her a vampire. It annoys her. But she doesn't miss the fact that it doesn't anger her as much as it had when Derek had said it.

"Stiles, look, hear me out," Scott insists, looking up at his best friend from where he and Caroline are sitting on Stiles' bed. "She's not a vampire. And, uh, I think that's like an offensive term? So cut it out please. She's a dhampir. It's different." Caroline nods quickly, trying to make herself look as nonthreatening as possible. She doesn't like the feeling of being rejected by this Stiles. She dislikes the distrustful way he eyes her even more.

"She's not like me," Scott assures. "She has control. And you know I can tell if someone's lying now. She won't hurt you. She won't hurt anybody.  _I trust her_." Caroline's eyes widen, her fingers cease their nervous fidgeting, and she slowly turns to look at Scott. He trusts her.

She almost can't believe the words came out of the boy's mouth. He has no reason to. But he does. She can't believe how surreal this all is. A few months ago, she and Jon were hunting down violent werewolves and now Jon's gone and there's a werewolf sitting right beside her, albeit not a violent one, declaring his trust in her.

Stiles frowns at both of them for a long time, deep in thought, while Scott stares up at him pleadingly. Caroline can't tear her gaze away from the werewolf though. She lets herself imagine, for a moment, a life here, a life in beacon Hills, a life where Scott's her friend. Before she can continue her strange fantasy, Stiles sighs sharply and drops his head into his hands. He turns to Scott and narrows his eyes down at his best friend.

" _Fine_ ," he hisses. "But you're the one who's gonna ask my dad about it, not me. And I swear to every freaking deity out there, Scott, if she so much as pokes a fang out, I'll kill you both. I don't know how I'll do it but I will." His warning is accompanied by an intense scowl aimed right at Caroline, his eyes narrowing down at her.

Caroline chokes back the small whimper that attempts to crawl it's way up her throat. It's overwhelmingly clear he doesn't trust her or like her very much and it makes Caroline want to cry, which is ridiculous. She doesn't understand what the bloody hell is happening to her emotions around this boy.

Both Scott and Caroline hear the car pull into the driveway, although Scott is the one who alerts Stiles to his father's arrival. The human boy's been pacing the length of his room nonstop since he'd agreed to let them talk to his father about Caroline staying with them, at least for a short time.

Caroline still hopes Derek will come around eventually and relent. He's the only family she has left and she wants to be with him, no matter how amazing Stiles smells. They wait until the Sheriff enters the house and shuffles about on the first floor for a few minutes before they descend.

"Hey, dad?" Stiles calls as Scott and Caroline follow after him, into the kitchen, where the Sheriff is seated at the kitchen island, looking over a few papers with a cup of what looks to be whiskey in his hand. The man's still in his uniform and seems to be exhausted. He's got one hand rubbing at his temple while the other flips through the papers. He drops them happily at the sight of his son and grins. To Caroline's pleasant surprise, the smile doesn't seem to wane when he catches sight of her.

"Hey boys," the Sheriff greets, pausing before adding on an amused, "New friend?" Caroline smiles as politely as she can and waves, a bit shyly, which is strange. She's never been timid before.

"Hey Sheriff," Scott offers. "Rough night?" The Sheriff shrugs his shoulders; hands reaching up to take the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose off. He sets it on the table in front of him and shuffles the papers into a small pile, moving it aside before giving the three teenagers his undivided attention.

Somehow he seems to know they've got something to ask of him. Stiles shuffles closer to Caroline awkwardly, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder cautiously, almost as if he believes touching her will burn him. Caroline doesn't say anything. Instead, she lets his scent calm her.

"Dad, this is Caroline Hale," Stiles reveals to his father. "She, uh, just got to town." The Sheriff's eyebrows arch, his eyes glancing between Scott, his son, and Caroline for a moment before they settle on Caroline.

"Hale?" he asks, curiously. "Related to Derek Hale?" Caroline nods, almost hesitantly, when she remembers what Scott had told her about her cousin's history with the police in Beacon Hills, and offers the Sheriff another polite smile.

"Yes, sir," she tells him, hoping she sounds respectful. "He's my cousin. My father was Jonathan Hale." Caroline knows she has to make a good impression on the Sheriff. She just hopes he doesn't let what he knows of the Hale's deter his opinion of her. To her utter surprise, the Sheriff only smiles.

"I remember Jonathan," he says and then after a moment his smile vanishes. " _Oh_. I-I see. I'm sorry for your loss, Caroline." Caroline nods, hoping she can ask him about Jon one day. She wants to know what her father was like when he was younger, before he became a hunter and left Beacon Hills. The Sheriff clears his throat and straightens his back.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Caroline," he declares. Caroline's polite smile grows in size, daring to hope the man approves of her.

"Thank you, sir," she drawls. "You as well." Stiles clears his throat, the sound almost identical to his father's, and drops his hand from Caroline's shoulder, though he doesn't move away from her.

"So, uh, we had something we wanted to run by you real quick," Stiles adds, his voice pitchy and nervous. "If you're not too busy." The Sheriff arches a brow at his son expectantly but Stiles doesn't go on. So Scott steps forward, as he'd promised to do, and the Sheriff's gaze moves to settle on him.

"Well, um, you see Sheriff," Scott begins, unsure and almost as twitchy as Stiles. "When Caroline's dad passed away, Derek Hale became her legal guardian. That's why she came to town to find him." He pauses for a moment, almost as if to make sure he's still got the Sheriff's attention, before he continues.

"I bumped into her in town," Scott goes on. "I took her up to the old Hale house but Derek isn't there. I don't really know if anyone knows where he actually lives." Caroline holds her breath for a moment, and watches as the Sheriff's eyes widen, his mind no doubt putting two and two together and understanding what's happening.

"Caroline doesn't have any other family left," Scott mumbles. "And well, Stiles and I were hoping you wouldn't mind, I don't know, taking her in for a while? Only until we can find Derek though." The Sheriff eyes Scott for a moment, then Caroline, and a small frown pulls at the corner of his lips.

"How old are you, Caroline?" he asks after a moment, his fingers twitching in a way that makes it seem like he wants to reach out for his glass of whiskey but knowing he can't, or shouldn't. "Did you have a social worker?"

"Sixteen, sir," Caroline tells him quietly. "My social worker put me on the train here but I don't believe she had any plans to accompany me. I can't remember her name. I was a bit, well, I was grieving, barely listened to a word the woman said, to be quite honest." The Sheriff looks extremely concerned by that but Caroline is telling the truth, leaving out the part where her social worker had connections to hunters that Jon knew and therefore sent her out to California without asking too many questions.

"I see," the Sheriff mumbles, reaching up to rub at the barely there stubble on his chin. "Can I ask why you didn't talk to Melissa first, Scott?" Scott does his best to smile sheepishly.

"I did," he lies straight through his teeth. "Mom said she didn't trust me to be alone with a girl while she's working crazy hours at the hospital. She suggested I ask you since you're Sheriff and all. That, plus, you know, Stiles can't get a girl to save his life." Scott is a smooth liar and Caroline's thoroughly impressed. Stiles though, well he seems offended by his best friend's lying abilities and lets out a squawk of protest.

" _Hey_!" he cries out stubbornly, frowning first at Scott then at his dad. "I can too get a girl. Lydia will come around sooner or later." His eyes widen almost immediately and Caroline watches with concerned eyes as he reaches up and slaps a hand over his mouth. Scott rolls his eyes and the Sheriff simply chuckles.

"You still crushing on the Martin girl?" he asks his son. Stiles' cheeks flush with color all the way up to his ears as he drops his hand from his mouth and Caroline swallows dryly as she watches his bottom lip jut out, pouting adorably.

"Dad, not in front of Caroline," Stiles whines out, stomping his foot like a five year old. Caroline feels an odd clenching sensation in her stomach at the sound of his whining and does her best to look amused by the boy's antics, even going as far as to giggle softly. The Sheriff rolls his eyes at his son then turns to look up at Caroline once more.

"All right, Caroline," he relents. "You're welcome to stay in our guest room. But only until we locate Derek. He has to be around here somewhere. I mean, sure, he's a bit of a recluse, but I'm sure he'll be glad to know he has family in town. Poor boy could use a friendly face after all that's happened recently." Caroline nods solemnly. Scott had mentioned the house fire a few years back and the recent murder of Derek's sister, Laura.

"Thank you, sir," Caroline says. "I really do appreciate it. More than you can imagine." The Sheriff seems a bit taken aback by her honest and deep gratitude and nods, smiling softly.

"Alright, you boys help Caroline get settled," he orders after a moment, waving the teenagers off and pulling his papers back over to him. "I have to finish this up, grab something to eat, and get back to work."

"Oh, right," Stiles mutters, and he seems completely disbelieving and shocked that his father has actually granted their request. "Thanks, dad."

"Yeah, thanks, Sheriff," Scott agrees, reaching over to gently grasp at Caroline's elbow before leading her out of the kitchen, just behind a now silently fuming human boy.

* * *

Caroline is moving around the guest bedroom, putting what little clothing she owns away into the dresser. The room is small but cozy, painted a light blue and decorated with pearlescent knickknacks. She likes the color scheme. It reminds her a bit of what she imagines a beach house bedroom would look like.

Scott had left a short while ago and Stiles is now sitting awkwardly on the white sheets of the guest room bed as Caroline empties the contents of her duffel bag and puts them away. She glances over at him every few seconds, eyeing the stiff way he's holding himself. It's clear the boy isn't comfortable around her. It makes her almost miserable to know that.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she tells him softly, cautiously; it's almost a whisper. "I promise. You can relax." He turns his head toward her slowly, moving his gaze from the bedroom door to her, scowling, eyes lit up with anger.

"Why should I trust you?" he practically spits. "For one, you're a-a vampire or whatever the hell you are, and secondly, you're related to Derek, who, by the way,  _scares the shit outta me_." He shudders when he utters Derek's name and Caroline frowns for a moment, wondering what Derek's done to frighten the poor boy so much. She exhales softly and gingerly takes a seat on the bed, although not too close so as not to scare the boy off.

"I'm not a vampire, Stiles," she reminds him gently, feeling as if she has to walk on eggshells around him. "I'm a dhampir. And I make it a point to only consume animal blood." She watches as the words do absolutely nothing to soothe his fears. Instead, he crosses his arms over his chest and stubbornly stares her down.

"I swear to you," she begins, feeling almost desperate for a moment. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to hurt anybody." She doesn't understand why she wants the human to trust her so badly. All she knows is that she wants his approval and after seeing the way he and Scott interact, she realizes she wants that too, friendship, a friendship like theirs. Stiles' glaring softens for a moment and Caroline feels a tiny flutter of hope.

"And whatever Derek's done to you," she goes on. "I swear I won't do, whatever it is. I know he's my cousin and all but even I have to admit the bloke seems like a bit of a wanker." That seems to do it. All at once, a smile pulls at the edges of Stiles' lips and Caroline can't stop the grin that lights up on hers. He seems to falter at that, his eyes shooting down to her lips for a moment, before he rips his gaze away and resumes his frowning.

Caroline's grin refuses to go away and it remains even as they sit in silence for a few minutes. Then Stiles stands and, once again, almost trips over his own two feet, cheeks coloring as he catches himself. Caroline forces her grin away. She doesn't want him to think she's laughing at him.

"I got, uh, school tomorrow," Stiles mutters, walking backwards towards the door. "I should get to bed." Caroline nods and watches him turn and pause just under the doorframe.

"Goodnight," she calls softly, afraid to raise her voice at him. He doesn't turn back around, or even look over his shoulder, but Caroline catches his whispered, "Night," as he walks away.

* * *

Two days later, the Sheriff calls Caroline down to the kitchen after he's come home from work for the night and tells her he's gotten ahold of her school records from Philadelphia County and has transferred them to Beacon Hills High School. She's going to school the next day.

Caroline's never been a fan of school before. She's never had time between training and hunting to actually make friends or pay attention to assignments, but she's oddly excited by the prospect now so she thanks the Sheriff endlessly and goes to bed that night feeling enthusiastic at the prospect of a future in Beacon Hills.

In the morning, she dresses for school in her usual black jeans and white t-shirt attire, along with her dark green leather jacket, and joins Stiles downstairs for an awkwardly silent breakfast. The boy hasn't spoken to her much over the course of the last few days. He's barely ever home. But when he does return, he always smells of Scott so she knows where he's been. Not that she should care.

The day is sunny and warm outside and Caroline follows Stiles to the Jeep she's seen parked in the driveway. She sits in the passenger seat quietly, watching the houses that pass as he drives. When the Jeep finally comes to a stop in the school's car park, Stiles, in his haste to get out of the car, falls out after his foot catches on something.

Caroline doesn't know why it frightens her into immediate action. She throws open her door, zips around the Jeep, and catches the boy before his face can connect with the pavement. She pulls him to his feet and steadies him, her eyes wide and searching for any injuries while the boy gapes at her. He sputters for a few seconds, glancing between her and the passenger door, which is left open, until he finally finds his voice.

"What the hell was  _that_?" he snaps, eyes narrowing. "Are you crazy? You can't do that!" Caroline flinches, taking a small step backwards as he throws his hands into the air, making wild gestures. He's prone to do that. He's also prone to stuttering and tripping and falling, she's noticed.

"What if somebody saw you  _do_  that?" he hisses. Caroline's lips part to tell him that it's alright, nobody had seen anything, but Stiles cuts her off, pointing a finger in her face.

"Bad vampire," he scolds. "Don't do that." Her eyes widen at him, eyebrows arching, but instead of feeling annoyed or angry, she's almost amused by his antics. He turns and slams the driver's door closed and rounds his Jeep to close the passenger door as well.

Caroline follows after him, rolling her eyes when he stomps up to Scott, who is waiting for them near the school's front steps, and starts ranting about how she'd used her 'super freaky super speed' in broad daylight. Scott arches a brow at her and Caroline frowns, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"He fell," she explains. "I merely kept him from hurting himself. I apologize. I won't do it again. Next time I'll let him eat concrete." Stiles gapes at her but Scott merely chuckles softly before changing the subject.

He starts talking about a dream, more like a nightmare really, he'd had the night before, where he had attacked a girl named Allison in a school bus. Caroline listens intently as they walk up the school steps. Stiles pulls open the door and lets both Scott and Caroline enter before he does.

"So, you killed her?" he asks Scott. Scott shrugs once again, frowning.

"I don't know," he says, and he sounds so confused. "I just woke up. I was sweating like crazy and I couldn't breathe. I've never had a dream where I woke up like that before."

"Really?" Stiles mutters. "I have, usually ends a little differently." Caroline rolls her eyes at him. She wants to interrupt and ask them where the main office is. She has to get her schedule but she's also interested in hearing more about Scott's dream so she holds off on her question.

"A, I meant I never had a dream that felt that real," Scott sighs. "And B, never give that much detail about you in bed again." Stiles shrugs, not ashamed or regretful in the slightest.

"Noted," he says. "Let me take a guess here—" Scott cuts him off.

"No,  _I know_ , you think it has something to do with me going out with Allison tomorrow," he huffs, almost grumpily. "Like I'm gonna lose control and have a throw down." Caroline arches a brow at the werewolf. She hadn't known he was going on a date with this Allison girl.

"No, of course not," Stiles murmurs sarcastically, staring at Scott with a look on his face that reads 'Dude, seriously? Come on'. Scott sighs and hangs his head, frowning.

"Yeah, that's totally it," he admits sheepishly. Caroline thinks he looks like a kicked puppy but she's not going to say it out loud. Werewolves never appreciate the dog jokes. Usually it just angers them even more.

"Hey, come on, it's gonna be fine, alright?" Stiles offers, attempting to comfort his best friend. "Personally, I think you're handling this pretty frikin' amazingly. You know, it's not like there's a lycanthropy for beginner's class you could take." Scott glances up at him, though the frown pulling at his lips remains.

"Yeah, not a class," Scott starts softly, glancing over at Caroline for a moment. "But maybe a teacher." Caroline startles for a moment but forces herself to keep walking, keep following them. When she sees the way Stiles is gaping at Scott, she realizes the werewolf means Derek, not her, and nearly sighs in relief. She likes Scott, but she's not sure how well she'd do trying to teach a werewolf control.

"Who,  _Derek_?" Stiles cries out, immediately reaching over to deliver a slap to the back of Scott's head. "Did you forget the part where we got him tossed in jail?" Caroline frowns. So they were the reason Derek had been arrested. She wonders why neither boy had mentioned it before. Stiles glances over at her for a second then leans closer to Scott and whispers a dramatic little, "Not to mention his creepy vampire cousin over here." Caroline resists the urge to grit her teeth.

"I can  _hear_  you, Stiles," she points out. "Still not a vampire." Both boys opt to ignore her.

"Yeah, I know but," Scott acknowledges, pausing for a moment, lost in thought, before he continues. "Chasing her, dragging her to the back of the bus, it felt so real." Caroline eyes the boy closely. He's clearly shaken up by this dream.

"How real?" she inquires, maintaining a perfectly innocent look on her face as Stiles shoots her a sharp, annoyed look.

"Like it actually happened," Scott reveals just as all three of them walk through yet another set of doors. They pause as one, although Scott's jaw drops first. There, maybe seventeen yards away from them, sits a yellow school bus, blood staining the broken windows, like a scene straight out of a nightmare, Scott's nightmare.

"I think it did," Stiles announces.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot I uploaded this story on here so I'll be posting two chapters tonight to make up for the super long wait. Sorry, folks, my bad.


	3. Chapter III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's that third chapter. Thank you for all the continued support. Quick note, When I began writing this story, we had not yet seen the layout of Stiles' home i.e. his home not having a second floor and his bedroom being on the ground floor. It'd be too much of a headache to go back and fix all that so we're simply going to pretend the Stilinski residence has two floors and Stiles' bedroom is on the second floor, along with that guest bedroom. On to the story then.

**Chapter III**

"Thank you, ma'am," Caroline tells the secretary behind the desk, shooting a small smile down at the woman as she's handed her class schedule. The woman wishes her luck as she turns and leaves the main office, eyes cast down and studying the schedule in her hands. She pauses and looks up when a man's voice sounds over the p.a. system.

"Attention students, this is your principal," the rather monotone voice announces. "I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled, thank you." Caroline thinks back to the scene of the bloodied bus and frowns.

She hadn't been as affected by the sight as Scott or Stiles. The werewolf had paled visibly and for a minute Caroline had believed Stiles would be sick. But as a former hunter, she'd seen far too much bloodshed to be affected much by it all. The Sheriff had also been there, as exhausted as ever, and had hurried them along to class.

Caroline locates her locker rather easily and secures the lock the secretary had given her to the metal. She has nothing to store away in it yet so she simply closes the lock and sets off for her first class. Thankfully, the teacher doesn't ask her to introduce herself or anything as cliché as that.

She simply takes her seat, receives a textbook, and pays attention to the lesson. She goes through four periods of pretty much the same thing until lunchtime rolls around. Caroline follows the crowd to the canteen and realizes, with a start, that she's got no money for food.

She's not sure what to think of Beacon Hills High School yet. She's barely gotten through the first half of her first day but so far she's had zero classes with either Stiles or Scott. No one had attempted to befriend or even speak to her and now she's standing in the middle of the canteen with no money to buy lunch.

She glances around the large room slowly, hoping she'll spot Scott or Stiles. She has no luck for a few minutes but then hears Scott's voice faintly and follows the sound to find both the werewolf and Stiles taking a seat at a table. With a relieved sigh, she joins them, frowning a bit when neither acknowledges her presence, too deep in conversation as they are.

"What makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?" Stiles asks. Scott shoots the other boy a desperate look.

"Because during the full moon he wasn't changed," Scott mutters. "He was in total control while I was running around in the middle of the night attacking some totally innocent guy." Caroline arches a brow, listening quietly.

"You don't know that," Stiles tells his best friend firmly.

"I don't not know it," Scott argues, looking as if he wants to reach up and pull at his hair, before he sighs. "I can't go out with Allison, I have to cancel."

"No, you're not cancelling, okay?" Stiles counters. "You can't just cancel your entire life. We'll figure it out." Caroline nods, reaching over to place a hand on Scott's arm.

"I can try to help," she offers softly, aware of the way Stiles rolls his eyes and huffs, muttering something about nosy vampires beneath his breath. Scott looks up at her, ignoring Stiles, and smiles faintly. The smiles turns to a confused frown when suddenly a pretty redheaded girl takes a seat on Scott's other side. Caroline tenses when she hears Stiles' heartbeat stutter at the sight of the redhead. She pulls her hand from Scott's arm and mirrors his frowns as more people follow the redheaded girls lead.

Caroline hadn't realized Scott and Stiles had so many friends. She glances between the boys for a moment, notes how surprised they both seem that people are joining them, and quickly realizes these people aren't their friends, although they don't seem opposed to their intrusive presence at all. A boy in a maroon lacrosse jersey slides into the vacant seat beside Caroline, his arm brushing against hers.

Caroline looks over at the boy and slowly narrows her eyes, scowling. She's almost certain he hadn't brush against her on purpose but she's glad to see the near frightened look on his face as he shuffles away from her. Only a few minutes later, Caroline's come to the conclusion that she absolutely detests the blighter that is Jackson and she's not a big fan of the redhead, Lydia, either. Although she supposes Allison seems like a lovely enough girl.

* * *

After the last bell rings, Caroline tracks Stiles down to what appears to be a Chemistry lab, where Scott and Stiles and a few other students sit sullenly while the teacher pointedly ignores them. Caroline frowns at the sight and raises a hand to knock at the wood of the classroom door but stops short when Scott looks up and their gazes' meet. The werewolf shakes his head and Caroline stares at him in confusion, raised fist ready to knock but unmoving, until the boy mouths a word to her, 'Detention.' Of course, they're in detention.

So, Caroline's left to either sit and wait for them to be released from detention or try to find her own way home. She chooses the latter and amazingly, only gets lost for about fifteen minutes before she manages to track down the Stilinski residence. She doesn't have a key so she climbs up to the roof and breaks in via Stiles' bedroom window. She's tempted to bury her face into the sheets of his bed once she's inside but pointedly shoves the urge away and all but sprints out of the boy's room.

She drops off her books and homework in the guest bedroom then makes her way downstairs to eat something. She's starving. She's managed to put together a sandwich when a phone rings. Caroline's nearly startled into dropping her sandwich and glances around in confusion for a moment. She doesn't have a mobile phone and she's positive she's home alone. She follows the ringing sound to a telephone hooked on the wall in the corner of the kitchen and eyes it warily. Who still has a landline these days? She picks up hesitantly, muttering a soft, "Hello?" into the receiver as she brings it up to her ear.

"Hi, Caroline," the Sheriff's voice rings in her ear. "Is everything okay? I've called my son about a million times and he hasn't picked up." Caroline feels all the tension drain out of her at the sound of the man's voice and nearly sighs in relief, her shoulders sagging.

"Everything's alright, Sir," she assures. "Stiles is in detention, regrettably. But I'm already home. I was fixing myself something to eat." The Sheriff mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like, "Of course he is," but covers it up with a small chuckle.

"Alright then, just checking in," he says. "Will you be okay by yourself until Stiles gets home?" Caroline nods, then remembers the man can't see her

"I'll be alright, Sir," she promises. "No need to worry." She exchanges a few more words with the man before he announces he has to 'get back to it.' Caroline places the phone back into its place and moves back over to the kitchen table, taking a seat and enjoying her sandwich as she eats slowly. She's still hungry when it's gone and she grimaces, knowing it's a different type of hunger. She's managed to hold off on feeding the past couple of days, not wanting to sneak out and shake the Sheriff's trust in her, but it's inevitable.

She's halfway up the stairs when the front door swings open and Stiles stumbles in, followed closely by Scott. They're arguing over Star Wars. Caroline stares at them as they kick off their shoes near the front door and drop their backpacks carelessly. Stiles doesn't notice her and walks straight down the short hallway and into the kitchen while Scott hangs back and grins up at her.

"So, what'd you think of your first day at Beacon Hills High?" he inquires, moving forward and looping his arm around the wooden banister of the stairs. Caroline shrugs.

"It was alright," she tells him honestly, eyeing the happy shine to his eyes. "Allison seems lovely." She watches Scott's cheeks flush and grins as well. Stiles reappears, a bottle of water in his hand, and frowns, glancing between them for a moment before he fixes his gaze on Caroline.

"How did you get home?" he asks, pointing up at her, as if he'd forgotten all about her and is just know wondering. Caroline does her best not to outright scowl down at the human boy.

"I teleported," she deadpans. Stiles apparently doesn't catch the dry wit and nearly squawks, arms flailing in that way they always do when he's shocked. His eyes widen as he stares up at her.

"You can  _do_  that?" he hisses. "Holy crap, I—" He cuts himself off, eyes narrowing as Caroline arches an amused brow down at him. She kind of enjoys watching him flail about like a baby chick.

"You're kidding," he realizes, before he frowns and lets out a sarcastic, dry laugh. " _Amazing_ , a vampire with a sense of humour." Caroline rolls her eyes down at him but watches as Scott lands a small smack to the back of his best friend's head. Stiles whines out a dramatic, " _Ow_! Dude, seriously?" and turns to face the werewolf.

"Stiles, we talked about this," Scott tells him, eyes wide, before he murmurs a quiet, " _Ix-nay on the v-word_." Caroline nearly beams at the friendly gesture. It's quite a surprise how far Scott's willing to go to avoid offending her. She likes that.

"It's alright, Scott," Caroline announces. "I'd love to stay and chat boys, but I've a prior engagement." She turns and makes her way up the stairs, ignoring Stiles' voice when he asks Scott what the hell a 'prior engagement' means. Caroline wanders back into the guest room, slipping out of her forest leather jacket to pull on a black pullover instead. She's tying her hair up into a bun, struggling with the strands that won't stay in place, when Stiles and Scott knock on the frame of the bedroom door. Caroline glances over at the boys as she crosses the room to pull her mostly empty duffel bag from the closet in the corner.

"Where are you going?" Stiles asks, frowning, as Scott steps into the room, glancing around. Caroline pulls the hunting knife she'd received as a gift from her father on her birthday the year before from her duffel bag and immediately sees the way Stiles' eyes widen at the sight of the weapon.

"W-What the  _hell is that_?" Stiles demands as she slips the knife underneath her belt and clips it into place. "Has that been in there the whole time?!" Caroline nearly stumbles backwards as the human boy suddenly advances on her, despite the knife on her belt. Scott quickly places himself between them, both hands against Stiles' chest. Caroline tries her hardest not to cower under Stiles' wrathful gaze.

"I-It's just a knife," Caroline stammers, growing nervous when Scott looks over his shoulder at her and frowns. "I-I need it to hunt." Stiles pulls away from Scott and huffs angrily as Scott asks him to, "Calm down, Stiles." Caroline flinches when Scott turns to her, frowning as if he's disappointed in her.

"You shouldn't have brought that into the house, Caroline," he tells her, like she should know better, and Caroline automatically feels the need to defend herself.

"I-I'm sorry," she stutters out, desperately wanting their light banter from just mere minutes ago back. "I didn't know it would make him uncomfortable. I-I'll get rid of it, I swear. I'll stash it in the woods. I won't bring it back into the house. I'm sorry." The pitchy apology seems to placate Scott but does nothing to calm Stiles' speeding heart and angry huffs. The boy whirls around, focusing furious eyes on her and scowls.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" he snaps. "You had a knife in the closet! You brought a  _knife_  into my house!  _What the hell is wrong with you?_ " His every word feels like a kick to the chest and Caroline averts her gaze to the floor, feeling utterly ashamed, although she doesn't understand why. She hadn't realized the knife would be such a problem. She doesn't understand why it is. But what she does know is, she doesn't like the way Stiles is yelling at her. She reaches up and presses her hands to her ears, trying to block out the boy's shouting, but he keeps going.

"How could you think that was alright?" he yells, arms flailing about as usual. "My dad sleeps just down the hall! Jesus, how stupid can y—" Caroline feels herself snap, and she's glad Scott somehow senses it too, and grips her upper left arm tight as her hands drop from the sides of her head and her gaze snaps up.

" _Enough_!" she snarls. She can see her eyes shining that same bright viridian in the reflection of the mirror over Stiles' shoulder but can't prevent it from flaring as her emotions spark. Stiles jumps, all the anger draining from his expression, suddenly replaced with fear. His shoulders tense as his eyes widen, arms frozen in place up in the air.

"I  _said_  I was sorry!" Caroline nearly growls, her hands balling into tight fists at her sides. "You—" Caroline's so overwhelmed and angry, she can't go on. Her words become trapped in her throat and all she can do is stare desperately at the terrified human boy across the room. Scott's grip on her arm loosens, just a bit, as he mutters out a soft, "Okay, are we all gonna calm down now?" Caroline feels herself deflate, defeated and ashamed and hurt and even a little remorseful.

"I should go," she declares after a long minute of silence, once the colour of her eyes have returned to their natural brown. She pulls her arm free of Scott's grasp and crosses to the door, trying her hardest to bite back a whine when Stiles flinches violently away from her. She flees then, trips her way down the hall and stumbles down the stairs before tearing her way out of the house.

Her eyes begin to water and she reaches up, wiping away the tears before they even fall, angrily. She's frustrated and nearly whimpering by the time she jogs into the Beacon Hills Preserve. She picks a random tree and leans against it, attempting to pull herself together. She doesn't understand why her body doesn't seem to want to obey her. She doesn't understand why she's even crying. So what if the human had snapped at her? Why should it affect her so much? Why does what he thinks of her matter so much? It shouldn't, Caroline tells herself, and it doesn't.

She sniffles and rubs at her eyes until they're dry and tells herself to stop letting her emotions get the best of her. She needs to hunt, and she can't do that while snivelling like a baby. She tracks down a rather plump hare and drains it slowly, relishing in the taste of the blood, although if she's quite honest with herself, it's not all that appealing or satisfying. Human blood tastes at least fifty times better but she's not a monster, refuses to ever become one, and convinces herself the hare is the tastiest morsel on Earth.

When she's finished, and has buried not only the hare's remains but also her hunting knife in different spots, she stands and looks around, thinking of Stiles. She regrets snapping at him. Her heart clenches as she recalls the fear on his face. She doesn't want him to be afraid of her. But he seems convinced she's some kind of monster who's going to butcher his father in his sleep or something. He's a stubborn human. She'd tried her best to be calm and soothing around him. But something about him makes every emotion feel ten times as heightened and she'd lashed out at him. And now she has to fix it.

* * *

Caroline decides what she needs to do is to speak to Derek. She's confused and in need of advice concerning Stiles, and Jon had after all sent her to Derek for a reason. The werewolf is her guardian, so it's almost his job to guide her when she's lost. Plus, she's already in the Preserve and the Hale house is somewhat nearby. She's not sure if Derek will be there or not. She hadn't asked if he lived there, and she hopes he doesn't because the house is in no way habitable, but it's the only place she can think of to look for him.

So she turns and heads in the vague direction of where she remembers the house to be. As she nears, she begins to pick up not only the scent of beta werewolf but she also picks up the faint sound of Scott's voice. Caroline pauses, frowning for a moment, before she hurries forward. As she approaches the house from the west, Scott's words ring clearer. He's talking to Derek about the dream he'd had. Caroline stays hidden from view, behind the thick trunk of a tree, and hopes neither werewolf picks up her scent.

Scott seems to be growing a bit desperate. He's afraid he'd caused the incident with the school bus the night before. He repeatedly inquires as to whether he'll hurt or even possibly kill someone. Derek's answer is a monotone yes, to both. Caroline's momentarily reminded of the fact that Scott is only a newborn werewolf and seems to be struggling with it. She frowns again, wondering why Derek isn't doing more to help the boy. He's a terrible sire. It's not much of a surprise though. He's not a great guardian either.

She's almost forced to metaphorically 'swallow her words' or in this case thoughts when Derek's next words are an offer to teach Scott how to be a werewolf, although he's quick to let Scott know it won't come for free. Caroline's hands ball into fists at her sides, anger at her cousin coursing through her. It's his job to watch out for Scott. Scott shouldn't have to pay him anything. It's Derek's fault Scott even needs help. Derek needs to take responsibility for his actions.

"What do you want?" Scott's voice asks.

"You'll find out," Derek tells him. A thick silence follows afterwards and Caroline wonders if they've realized they're not alone. But then Derek heaves a sigh and suggests Scott go back to the bus. He assures the younger beta he'll be able to remember what had happened. Caroline turns and peeks out then, watching as Scott's shoulders slump. He looks completely disheartened but only nods and leaves Derek standing on the charred porch by himself.

"You can come out now," Derek calls once Scott's scent has all but faded. Caroline scowls. Of course he knows she's there. He's probably known the entire time. She steps out from behind the tree and makes her way up onto the porch where Derek's leaned a hip against a part of the railing that isn't broken or in danger of disintegrating with the touch of a hand. The werewolf arches a dark brow down at her. He looks almost smug but his lips don't move so it's hard to be sure.

"Back so soon?" he asks. "Sheriff too strict?" Caroline crosses her arms over her chest in a very Derek-like way and huffs.

"No," she mutters. "That's not it. I—" She cuts herself off, eyes narrowing at the blackened wood of the porch's flooring as she struggles to think of the words to say, how to best go about asking the man for advice.

"Anytime today would be nice," He prompts impatiently. Caroline's gaze is drawn back up to him as she scowls. He's a bit irritating and everything about the way he's looking at her down to his body language screams that he doesn't give a shit about her or her problems. He seems to just be humouring her. Caroline debates whether or not to say anything for a second but then ultimately decides there's really no one else she can go to.

"Stiles hates me," she admits; scowl fading only to be replaced with a mortified look. She can't believe she, a  _dhampir_ , is coming to a  _werewolf_  to complain about some scrawny human teenager not taking a liking to her. Derek seems to think the same thing because he scoffs and mirrors her crossed arms.

"So?" he spits, eyeing her incredulously. "Can't you— I don't know, just hypnotize him or something? Use mind control. Vampires do that shit, right? Why does it even matter if the idiot likes you or not?" Caroline bites back a growl.

"Firstly," she snaps, eyes narrowed up at him. "And I don't know how many times I'm gonna have to say it, I'm  _not_  a vampire. Secondly, it matters because I want him to be able to trust me. I don't want to live with a human who's constantly afraid I'll tear his heart out in the middle of the night." Derek arches an eyebrow down at her once more.

"Why?" he enquires, the question a lot softer than the tone he's used so far. Caroline shrugs, arms moving so she's hugging herself awkwardly as she shifts her gaze to the line of trees just beyond Derek's shoulders. She wants to tell Derek the truth, that there's something different about the boy, that he smells amazing and she sort of loses her grip on her emotions around him. But Derek's made it pretty obvious he doesn't care. So Caroline drops her arms and looks him straight in the eye.

"He knows what I am," she lies. "I don't want to deal with not having his trust, especially as I'm living with him at the moment, thanks to you." The face Derek pulls makes it glaringly obvious he knows she's lying even as she tries to convince herself that's really the reason why she wants Stiles' approval so badly. Derek sighs irritably.

"Then go earn that trust," he tells her. "He'll probably be with Scott going to the school. Scott seems to like you, trust you even, use that to your advantage." Caroline's startled for a moment because that's actually wonderful advice. Then she smiles and thinks maybe Derek's not such a bad guardian after all.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope to bring you Chapter 4 soon!


	4. Chapter IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. Here's chapter four. Hope you all enjoy!

**Chapter IV**

She’s leaning against the gate, head bent back to stare up at the stars, when Scott and Stiles pull up in Stiles’ Jeep. Caroline ignores the small stab of hurt she feels as she hears Stiles’ snippy little, “Oh great, what’s _she_ doing here?” The two boys climb out of the Jeep, Stiles frowning as they make their way over to her. Caroline pulls her gaze from the stars and does her best to shoot a small cautious smile Scott’s way. 

"Hi,” she breathes uncertainly. “I wanted to help. Is that okay?” Scott returns her smile, surprisingly, and nods.

“Yeah,” he tells her. “Thanks, Caroline.” Derek’s right, Caroline realizes, Scott does trust her, blindly it seems. Even after she’d scared the crap out of his best friend. She wonders for a moment if he trusts everyone as easily as he seems to trust her, and tries to ignore the two boys as they begin to argue about who will be staying behind to keep watch. Stiles protests passionately, arguing that if they’re Batman and Robin, he doesn’t want to be Robin. Caroline rolls her eyes at them and volunteers to keep watch, stepping away from the fence to casually lean against the side of Stiles’ Jeep.

“Alright, see, fangs will keep watch,” Stiles says, waving a hand in her direction. “Let’s go.” Caroline frowns at his back but quickly tries to hide it with a smile when she realizes Scott is looking over at her. He bites into his bottom lip for a second then returns his gaze to Stiles.

"Just stay here," he orders firmly before he turns and hops over the fence, leaving his best friend behind.

" _Oh my God_ ," Stiles all but groans then, annoyed but accepting. He turns and makes his way back over to the Jeep. Caroline doesn’t move. She doesn’t want to startle him. He takes one glance at her and scowls.

"Get in," he mumbles as he yanks open the driver’s door and climbs inside. Caroline stands where she is for a moment more and watches as Scott makes his way towards the bus from the incident before she turns and climbs into the passenger seat of Stiles’ Jeep. Stiles’ heartbeat skyrockets the moment she does so and Caroline winces, looking over at the boy from beneath her fringe. He flinches when she glances over and for some reason the movement irritates her.

"Relax,” she comments sharply. “Your heart's beating so loud my ears might bleed." This apparently is the wrong thing to say because he turns in his seat toward her and scowls angrily.

"Oh, I’m sorry to be _such_ an inconvenience to you,” he hisses, sarcasm dripping from every word. “It’s just that the image of your murderous green eyes is still fresh in my mind.” Caroline mirrors him, turning suddenly in her seat to face him with a look she’s sure reads desperate.

"Honestly, Stiles,” she huffs. “I apologised about the knife. I hadn’t realized it would upset you. Do you see it anywhere now? No. Do you know why? I got rid of it, _for you_. What else do I have to do to earn your trust?”

"You _can’t_ earn my trust,” he snaps grumpily, looking away and crossing his arms over his chest. Caroline recoils as if she’s been slapped and wills her heart to stop beating so irregularly.

"Fine,” she acquiesces. “Then at least to treat me like a normal person. Like I’m not a monster." Stiles turns back to her, an eyebrow arching incredulously in a clear, ‘You can’t be serious’ look.

"You're not a freakin’ normal person!” he cries. “You're a _vampire_! That's the problem!" Caroline glowers at him, in an attempt to hide the actual wounded way she feels.

“ _I'm not a vampire_!” she exclaims. “God, and you know what else? Scott's not normal either. I understand he’s your best mate but it isn’t fair of you to treat me like I’m a villain just because I’m not human. Scott isn’t either." The tone of her voice drops to a near mumble by the time she’s finished her little rant and she looks away, once more feeling her eyes water because of the deep ache of rejection she feels. She wants to at least be acknowledged as a person. Stiles is silent until she sniffles and reaches up to wipe at her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Stiles squeaks out.

"Nothing," Caroline mutters childishly, sniffling once again.

"Oh my God, you're not _crying_ , are you?” Stiles begins to ramble, voice panicked and uncomfortable. “Oh God, you are. _Aw man_ , why do I always make everybody cry?" Caroline looks up at him as she continues to rub her eyes dry; aggravated with herself because it’s the second time today she’s cried over the human boy beside her. Something is definitely wrong with her. She’s never been much of a crier before.

"Well, I’m sorry,” she huffs. “But I’ve been nothing if not nice to you and yet you continuously treat me as if I’m a monster. I may not be completely human but I do still have feelings, you know.” Stiles gapes at her for what seems like an eternity before he frowns, sighs deeply, and drops his gaze to his lap.

"I'm sorry," he says so softly that Caroline’s afraid it’s only her imagination.

"Are you?" she inquires faintly. He only nods, refusing to look up at her. Caroline fights off a grin.

"I forgive you,” she reveals. “And I'm sorry too, for the… murderous eyes thing. And the knife, definitely the knife." He does look up then but only nods once more. Then they settle into an awkward silence. Caroline hopes their mutual apology will change the way the boy sees her. But she has no time to think more on it because she catches sight of a beam of light, obviously from a torch, and she gasps, sitting up quickly.

"Stiles!" she cries, reaching over to tap at his shoulder. It sets him off and he springs into action, hitting the horn repeatedly to signal Scott. A moment later, Caroline can see Scott leaping out of the bus and taking off at a run towards the fence.

"Get in the backseat,” Stiles cries. “Go!" Caroline sees Scott literally flip over the gate before she’s quickly scrambling over the console of the Jeep and into the back seat, leaving the passenger seat open as Scott jumps into the car.

"Go, go!" Scott shouts, eyes wide, and Stiles immediately complies, backing out of there as fast as possible.

"Did it work?” Stiles cries as they peel away from the school. “Did you remember?" Caroline’s eyes are wide, her hands gripping tightly at the seat beneath her as Scott continuously glances back to check if they’re being followed. Stiles drives like a maniac, Caroline decides.

"Yeah, I was there last night,” Scott says. “But the blood, none of it was mine."

"So, you did attack him?" Stiles questions.

"No, I saw glowing eyes on the bus but they weren't mine,” Scott explains. “It was Derek." Caroline freezes, eyes narrowing at the back of Scott’s head. He has to be wrong, she thinks, or confused. Derek wouldn’t hurt someone. Caroline frowns, suddenly realizing that aside from what Jon had told her and from what she’s seen of Derek so far, she doesn’t really know him. Maybe he is capable of murder. Because of the way he’d told Scott that teaching him to be a werewolf wouldn’t come free, Caroline had quickly come to realize that her cousin is hiding something. But she’s not sure she thinks it’s murder.

"What about the driver?" Stiles asks.

"I think I was actually trying to protect him," Scott elaborates. Caroline has to refrain from scoffing. A newborn werewolf actively helping the meal escape is an absurd idea.

"Wait, why would Derek help you remember that _he_ attacked the driver?" Stiles asks. Caroline grins at the back of his head. Wonderful question, she thinks, Stiles is smart. She likes that.

"Ah, that's what I don't get," Scott groans.

"It's gotta be a pack thing," Stiles tells him. Caroline’s grin fades.

"What do you mean?" Scott asks him.

"Like an initiation,” Stiles explains. “You kill together."

“That’s ridiculous,” Caroline pipes up from the back seat.

"Because ripping someone's throat out is a real bonding experience," Scott deadpans. Caroline tries not to think about all the hunting trips she’d gone on with her father after she’d been bitten. She’d enjoyed ripping throats out of vampires after they were incapacitated, enjoyed giving them a dose of their own medicine, enjoyed looking down at them and watching them drown in their own blood as Jon watched on, waiting for her to cut the heads off.

"Yeah, but you didn't do it,” Stiles says, cutting off Caroline’s grim thoughts. “Which means you're not a killer… and it also means—" Scott cuts him off then, grinning like a maniac all of a sudden.

"That I can go out with Allison," he breathes. Caroline’s not sure if that’s the best idea but she’s not going to voice it because she’s sure Scott will do that kicked puppy thing and she doesn’t want to see that.

"I was gonna say it means you won't kill me," Stiles sighs.

"Oh yeah, that too," Scott offers. It’s the first time Caroline laughs since coming to Beacon Hills.

* * *

The night of Scott’s date, the Sheriff is working a late night and Caroline thinks it’s been at least a few hours since Stiles nagged at her about anything so she decides to attempt to rope him into spending some time with her. She tiptoes her way down the hall towards his bedroom and raps softly at the door. She waits patiently for the sounds of the videogame he must be playing to pause before he calls out a quick, “Yeah, come in.”

Caroline pushes his bedroom door open a crack and pokes her head in, smiling softly and hopefully. Stiles is sat cross-legged on his bed with a videogame controller in his hand while the TV across from his bed displays the pause menu of a game called Call of Duty. The tips of Caroline’s toes push the bedroom door open a bit more and she takes a small step into the room.

"Hey,” she begins hesitantly, a bit nervous now that Stiles is shooting a confused look over at her, no doubt wondering what the hell she wants. “Um, I was thinking… since Scott abandoned us for his date with that Allison girl, maybe you’d want to do something? Like hangout or summat." Stiles’ confused expression persists and the small hopeful lift to Caroline’s lips wanes. She clears her throat quietly and looks away.

"I— never mind,” she stammers out, fingers already closing around the door knob to pull the door shut as she takes a step back. “Sorry to bother you.” A strangled sound rips it’s way out of Stiles’ mouth and Caroline’s gaze snaps back to him, concerned. He’s unfolded his legs from beneath him and dropped the controller onto his comforter, one hand reaching out towards her. Caroline tries her hardest not to grin at the sight.

"No, yeah, let’s—” Stiles pauses, sits back and shrugs his shoulders in an obviously forced nonchalant gesture. “Sounds good. Let’s do that. What did you have in mind?" Caroline’s glad Scott isn’t there in that moment because she knows he would’ve caught the way her heart seems to skip a beat at the chance to bond with Stiles. She attempts to play off how nervous she actually feels and copies Stiles, shrugging her shoulders while she moves forward to take a seat on his desk chair.

"We could go to the movies," Stiles offers after a moment, one of his hands reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck. She’s seen him do that a lot. It seems to be another one of his fidgety habits.

"I think we should stay in,” she suggests. “Sheriff did ask us not to leave the house tonight and all. We could watch a movie downstairs? Stuff our faces? I swear I saw a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in the freezer and some pop in the fridge.” Stiles chuckles softly as he scoops up his videogame controller and uses it to shut down the console before slipping off the bed so he can do the same for the TV.

"Sounds like a good time,” he hums, before he adds on an amused, “Can’t believe she actually calls it pop,” under his breath. Caroline’s so excited about their upcoming movie night that she doesn’t even bother to defend her use of the word pop and just grins at the boy as he moves towards his bedroom door, Caroline following close behind him.

A few hours later, Caroline’s awoken by a faint clicking noise. She sniffs subtly at the air then relaxes when she catches the Sheriff’s scent, cracking one eye open slowly. She and Stiles are still on the sofa, Stiles is lying spread over the cushions with his socked feet in Caroline’s lap, snoring softly. Caroline’s in the same seated position she’d been in earlier, her head cushioned by the back of the sofa and Stiles’ mobile phone in her lap, just between Stiles’ feet.

The TV is still on and if Caroline isn't mistaken, the horror movie House of Wax is playing. The coffee table in front of the TV is stacked high with empty bags of crisps, candy wrappers, and empty cans of pop, along with the empty pint tub of ice cream, one spoon resting gently atop the lid. Caroline’s gaze moves over to Stiles and she can’t help the sleepy grin that pulls at her lips. The spoon he’d been using to dig out his half of the pint is hanging out of his parted lips.

She’d slipped it back into his mouth after he’d fallen asleep and snapped a picture with his mobile phone. She lets her one eye drift shut and dozes off until she hears a soft chuckle. With a small yawn, she raises her arms and stretches before letting both her eyes crack open. The living room lights have been shut off and the volume of the TV’s been lowered and the Sheriff is standing under the arch of the room’s entryway.

“You kids have fun?” he calls quietly. Caroline reaches up with one hand and rubs at her left eye with the back of her hand, nodding, while the other hand wraps around Stiles’ ankle and shakes as she mumbles his name. Stiles jumps awake like he’s been electrocuted, eyes wide as he sputters and flails, spitting the spoon out of his mouth in the process.

"Huh, wha—” he mumbles, adorably confused. “Dad?" He’s squinting up at both Caroline and the Sheriff through the darkness. Caroline ignores the warm, twisty feeling blossoming in her chest at the sight of the sleepy human and smiles down at him, releasing the hold she has on his ankle.

"Seems we fell asleep,” she tells him, gently pushing both his feet and his mobile phone off of her lap so she can stand and stretch a bit more.

“You should both get to bed,” the Sheriff suggests. “You have school tomorrow. I’m needed at the hospital. Not sure what time I’ll get in so goodnight, you two." Caroline watches as Stiles rubs the sleep out of his eyes, nodding, as his lips part to let out a silent yawn. He stands and makes his way over to the Sheriff and pulls him in for a hug.

“Careful out there, dad,” Caroline hears Stiles mutter into his father’s shoulder. The Sheriff claps him softly on the back and promises he’ll be careful before he smiles softly at Caroline over his son’s shoulder. Caroline returns the smile and adds a slight wave as the Sheriff pulls away from his son then turns, slips on his uniform shoes, and leaves again for the night.

It’s late and the Sheriff did ask them to go to bed so she and Stiles decide to do as they’re told. They silently clean up the living room before wandering upstairs to get ready for bed. Stiles bypasses the bathroom and goes straight to his bedroom, softly shutting the door behind him. Caroline does the opposite, she steps into the bathroom to brush her teeth, but listens closely as Stiles quietly moves around his bedroom. She can hear what sounds like the human boy getting dressed and quickly realizes sleep isn’t on his agenda for the night.

He seems to be planning on going somewhere in the middle of the night so Caroline finishes up her brushing as fast as possible and darts into her bedroom to quickly change. She’s lacing up her boots when she hears Stiles slide his bedroom window open and slip out onto the roof. She waits until he’s climbed down the side of the house and into his Jeep before slipping out of her own window. She remains hidden while easily following the Jeep from a safe distance. It’s a cold night but the wind feels pleasant against Caroline’s skin.

She finds she’s missed this feeling, the wind biting at her skin, the soft patter of her boot clad feet hitting the ground below, as she gives chase. She misses hunting with Jon. She misses Jon. She’s so caught up reminiscing that she barely realizes Stiles has pulled up along the curb of a green-panelled house with half a wrap-around porch. With a quick shake of her head to dispel any lingering memories, Caroline stalks closer. The house and its surrounding area stinks of werewolf and Caroline can recognize the scent easily. This is Scott’s house.

She jumps silently into a neighbouring tree and watches, rolling her eyes, as Stiles shimmies and curses his way up the side of the house before climbing inside through a second story window. Caroline’s quickly come to realize that breaking into each other’s houses is commonplace for both Scott and Stiles. It’s amusing to watch and heart-warming to know the two boys have such a long history, such a deep bond. It’s something Caroline can only dream of and wish for.

The faint high-pitched screaming that suddenly radiates from the house nearly has Caroline toppling off of the tree branch she stands crouched upon, her heart setting off at a thundering pace inside her chest and her body tensing as a whole when she catches her balance. The yelling seems to be coming from both Stiles and a woman. Caroline fights every instinct in her body and mind both and forces herself to remain in her tree and simply listen as a light flickers on inside the house and the woman recognizes Stiles.

The lingering scent of Scott deepens then, like the werewolf himself is nearing, and Caroline goes absolutely still. She’s not sure how well he’s progressing in picking up his new abilities but she doesn’t want him to catch her staking out his house and spying on his best friend and mother. Caroline figures it’d be a little hard to explain why. She watches as Scott approaches the house atop his bicycle, rolling to a stop and climbing off before leaning the bike up against the side of his house. He eyes Stiles’ Jeep parked along the curb as he makes his way up to the front door and slips inside.

Caroline listens closely as he makes his way up to the second floor. The woman, who is no doubt Scott’s mother, sighs harshly, obviously frustrated, as Scott enters the room. Through the open bedroom window, Caroline can see one of the werewolf’s eyebrows rise as he takes in the sight before him: his mother wielding a baseball bat standing beside his flustered best friend. It’s quite a comical sight to Caroline.

"Can you please tell your friend to use the front door?" Scott’s mother asks wearily, glancing between both boys in annoyance. Scott’s lowered eyebrow rises to meet the other as he looks to his mother, confused.

"But we lock the front door,” he reveals. “He wouldn't be able to get in."

"Yeah, exactly…” his mother snaps, clearly exasperated. “And, by the way, do either of you care that there's a police enforced curfew?"

"No…" Scott and Stiles simultaneously echo.

"No, all right then, well, you know what?” the frustrated mother sighs. “That's about enough parenting for me for one night so goodnight."

"Night," Scott calls after her.

Caroline remains where she is as the woman exits the room, abandoning the boys to their shenanigans. She’s surprised to see Stiles turn on Scott the moment the door is shut to reveal that the bus driver that was attacked is now dead. How he’s come upon the information, Caroline isn’t sure but she suddenly realizes that must be why the Sheriff had been needed at the hospital so late at night.

Scott freaks out and Caroline watches closely as he orders Stiles to go home because he has to go speak to Derek right away. Caroline’s eyes widen, remembering how adamant Scott had been about his thinking that Derek had been the one to attack the bus driver. Obviously, he thinks Derek’s killed the bus driver to silence him.

With a slight grunt, Caroline drops gracefully from the tree, taking off at a sprint towards the preserve as soon as her boots hit the ground. If Scott intends on confronting Derek then she wants to be there in case he pisses off the older werewolf. She tears through the woods at top speed, knowing she has to get to the Hale house before Scott, and the beta is not far behind her. As soon as she bursts in through the front door, she knows Derek had scented her coming because he’s waiting at the top of the charred staircase.

"Scott's coming," she calls up to him. “The bus driver is dead and Scott thinks you’re responsible. He's on his way here now.” Derek arches a brow down at her, a frown twisting his features, but he nods.

"Fine, I can handle him,” the werewolf sighs. “Go home." Caroline’s eyes narrow up at the man. She doesn’t agree with Scott, doesn’t think Derek had anything to do with the bus driver’s death, and definitely doesn’t think Derek is a killer, but she does think that Derek is hiding something. She wants to know what it is so she’s not planning on heeding his words.

" _Go home_ , Caroline," Derek orders again, his voice louder and firmer, but it’s too late. Scott bursts into the house much like Caroline had; only he’s a whirlwind of anger and desperation. Caroline knows better than to remain in the way of that so she casually leaps up onto the stairway banister, a sense of déjà vu overwhelming her for a moment, even as Scott’s eyes take her in. His expression reads confusion at first but it quickly changes to a look of slight betrayal. Derek’s scent is potent though so he turns away from her and sets his sight at the top of the staircase.

"Derek!" he calls, voice full of rage. Caroline glances over her shoulder and is surprised to see that her guardian is no longer standing at the top of the staircase.

"I know you're here!” Scott yells, sneering. “I know what you did!" Caroline crouches down on the banister, hands reaching down to grip at the charred wood, as she watches Scott look around, desperately trying to pinpoint Derek’s location.

"I didn't do anything," Derek's voice calls out quietly, a whisper that echoes throughout the old house. Scott lurches forward and Caroline startles at his sudden movement, springing up from her crouched position and vaulting up to the second floor to resume her careful watch whilst balancing atop the less scorched banister of the upstairs hallway.

"You killed him!" Scott cries out, gripping the staircase railings tightly under his trembling hands. Caroline’s surprised by the amount of anger the bus driver’s death has pulled out of the young werewolf. She hadn’t realized it before but Scott is truly a good person, he cares a lot more than she ever could.

"He died," Derek's voice insists from the darkness. Scott begins to inch his way up the stairs slowly, as if he’s afraid Derek will jump out at him from the shadows at any moment. Caroline’s beginning to suspect that’s exactly what Derek’s planning on doing.

"Your sister died?" Scott asks as he continues his way up step by careful step.

"My sister was missing,” Derek reveals. “I came here looking for her." Caroline realizes they’re talking about Laura Hale. Jon had never spoken of her much.

"You found her," Scott says.

"I found her in pieces,” Derek’s voice shouts, the words echoing once more. “Being used as bait to catch me!" Scott reaches the top of the stairs and glances around, eyeing the shadows closely.

"I think you killed them both,” he calls. “I'm gonna tell everyone, starting with the sheriff." Caroline frowns as the young werewolf warily steps forward into the upstairs hallway. She both senses and scents Derek coming but Scott doesn’t appear to and before Caroline can warn him, Derek has leapt out from the shadows, grabbed Scott from behind, and thrown him down the stairs.

Caroline’s eyes widen when she catches the furious expression Derek is wearing. She glances down at Scott, sprawled out on the dirty singed floor at the bottom of the stairs. Scott grunts softly before his head snaps up, his gaze locked onto Derek, his facial features morphed into that of his werewolf form. Caroline frowns once again as he growls up at the older infuriated werewolf. They’re going to fight each other, she realizes.

Before she can try to say anything, to stop this useless warring, Derek jumps down to the first floor and lands a couple feet away from Scott, who scrambles to his feet and shoves Derek as hard as he can through a wall. Caroline bites her tongue, rolling her eyes when she hears Derek let out a roar, knowing that means the older werewolf has shifted into his lycanthropic form as well. It’s too late to try to stop them now so instead Caroline simply watches as Scott follows after Derek through the hole he’d put in the wall.

"Werewolves," Caroline mutters, shaking her head, before leaping down to the first floor to keep an eye on the battling lycans. She leans against the living room entryway and watches them as they attempt to beat the crap out of each other for a few minutes. Then, Derek swipes his claws across Scott's chest and it’s enough to make Scott shift back into his human form, groaning as he holds a hand to his wound. Derek follows his lead, shifting back as he looms over Scott, glaring down at the beta.

"I didn't kill him, neither of us did,” Derek discloses. “It's not your fault and it's not mine." Scott struggles to his feet angrily, glaring right back up at Derek.

"This? This is all your fault!” Scott accuses. “You ruined my life!" Caroline shrugs a shoulder. Admittedly, Scott has a point there. Derek’s quite possibly the worst sire she’s ever encountered. She sincerely hopes Scott is the first and last beta Derek ever sires.

"No, I didn't," Derek defends firmly.

"You're the one who bit me," Scott practically spits, throwing his hands into the air in a very Stiles-like manner.

"No, I'm not," Derek bites out. Caroline freezes, wide eyes settled on the back of her guardian’s head as Scott shoots him a half confused and half furious look.

"What?" he yells.

"I'm not the one that bit you," Derek explains. Caroline stares dumbly between both werewolves, feeling almost as puzzled as Scott is for a moment. Logically, she knows that Derek is claiming he’s not Scott’s sire. But then that begs the question; who is?

Scott glances down at the scratch marks on his chest and reaches down to touch the blood seeping from the wound. His breathing deepens, leaves him panting, and his eyes widen as he stumbles back into an old couch and promptly sits down, no doubt coming to the same conclusion Caroline’s come to. Scott looks up to Derek, his eyes wide and clearly full of terror.

"There's another," he realizes. Caroline gapes at Derek’s back, suddenly furious, because that’s it, that’s what Derek has been hiding this whole time; another werewolf in Beacon Hills.

"It's called an alpha,” Derek sighs. “It's the most dangerous of our kind. You and I, we're betas. This thing is more powerful, more animal than either of us. My sister came here looking for him and now I'm trying to find him but I don't think I can do it without you." Caroline pushes away from the wall, stumbling forward towards her guardian and cousin, eyes wide and heart pounding away inside her chest.

"Please tell me you’re joking," she begs, angry and terrified and incredulous all at once. “ _An alpha_? I’ve been running around this godforsaken town while an alpha’s lurking about? It could’ve attacked me! It could attack anyone! You, me, Scott, anyone connected to any of us!” Derek’s arms cross over his torso in his famous closed-off Derek pose, glancing between Caroline and Scott.

"Why me?" Scott asks, worn out. “Why do you need my help? Caroline’s stronger.” Vaguely, Caroline hears his words but all at once she’s realized something else. There’s an alpha werewolf loose in Beacon Hills, one that’s killed an innocent man already, while Stiles, skinny, defenceless, human Stiles is walking around stinking of both beta werewolf and dhampir.

"Because he's the one that bit you, you're part of his pack,” Derek clarifies. “It's you, Scott. You're the one he wants." Neither werewolf notices that Caroline’s turned and sped out of the house as fast as possible, determined to get back to Stiles and make sure he’s alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks! Hope to be back soon with another chapter for you.


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